New Research Reveals Family Days Out are Becoming a Thing of the Past

4Children urges families to get out and about for National Family Week

A new survey, released today, suggests that families are not getting out together as often as they used to. A YouGov poll commissioned by the national charity, 4Children, indicates that 62% of people questioned felt they went on fewer family days out than they did 20 years ago.

4Children commissioned the survey because it is worried that increasingly busy lifestyles and worries over money mean that family time is being squeezed. The charity believes that spending quality time together benefits all families but is of particular value for vulnerable and disadvantaged families facing multiple stresses and challenges. 4Children launched the survey findings as part of a new campaign, Give Me Strength, which demands that we do more to strengthen families and  prevent them falling into crises.

Anne Longfield OBE, Chief Executive of 4Children said:

Hectic work schedules, financial concerns and competing demands on time can take their toll on the amount of time families spend together. A day out offers parents and children a chance to get away from both internal stresses within the family and external pressures. A short break away from the domestic routine allows children and parents to reconnect, especially for those families experiencing tough times. Days out can strengthen bonds and build shared family experiences and memories that we know are so important in keeping families strong and together.
                                                              

When asked “Do you think that, in the present circumstances, today’s families go out more, less or about the same amount of days together than families did 20 years ago?”, the following answers were received from 2028 British adults between 25th - 27th May 2011:

12% More days out together                 
16% About the same                         
62% Fewer days out together                
10% Don’t know                                     

The changing nature of family life in Britain

This is the latest in a string of research findings that provide a picture of change in the way we view family life and time spent together:

• The 2009 Family Commission survey showed that 50% of Britons felt family life had become harder over the last two decades.[i] 
• The 2010 National Family Week survey indicated that mothers and fathers know that the best quality time takes the form of days out and holidays,[ii] but showed families were spending an average of only 49 minutes per day together (about 5 hours a week).
• The 2011 National Family Week Poll shows that weekly time spent together is down to an average of two and a half hours.[iii]
   

And  with families telling National Family Week that a day out costs in the region of £50[iv], it’s not surprising that families are not getting out of the house as often as they used to. The charity called on families not to be put off by the high cost of some activities but find out what free activities might be going on in their area or consider having a simple picnic or trip to the park.

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